, 1887-06-10
THE RED HAIRED GENUS.
A Defense of Auburn Locks-HaIr of tho
Artistic Temperament.

Artistic Temperament.
Red hair, / believe, is a characteristics
mark of the Germanic race alone. With
this race, at least, it is the normal type,
although, of course, sporadic instances of
it occur among the Latin and the Sclavic
races. Hence among people of puIo
Gernlanic blood, among the Germans, the
Scandfnavians and tine Saxons the losses-
sion of red hair is to be regarded as con-
forming with the normal type and as the
surest possible sign of pure blood and un-
mixed descent. wherever the new
corners were left pretty much to them
selves" writes Mr.. John Fiske, ''as in
north Germany, central Russia and
Scandinavia, we should find the auburn
hair and blue eyes Of the old Aryan still
in the ascendant"
Another race that shows its aesthetic
appreciation Of the higher and purer type
is the Nubian. 1t is their universal Gus
tom, we are told, to dye their hair red
with unslackened lime.
The aesthetic sense of the Nubians in
this matter has come c~uriously close to
that Of the artists Of our own race. Au-
burn hair, time out of mind, has been
the f~avorite of artists. Examine the pic
lures of the great colorists of the Venetian
school, If you want abundant and strik-
ing example of this.
And not only has auburn hair been a
f~avorite with artists, but it has also been
peculiarly the hair which goes with the
artistic temperament itself. Hundreds of
cases to evince the truth of this statement
could easily be brought together. 1t will
suffice to mention a few selected at ran
dom:
Shakespeare. The ancient bust over
S~hakespeare's grave at Stratford is
painted with hazel eyes and auburn hair
and beard. This bust has long beer con-
sidered the most authentic likeness of the
poet.
Milton is described by Professor Mas
son as having eight and auburn hair. "
Schiller was "pale, with auburn hair. "
George Eliot had erich auburn hair
OF Keats it is said: '.His eyes were
large and blue, his hair auburn"
Heine had ''long auburn hair, and was
not of Jewish aspect"
Carlisle had shaggy, reddish hair"
DIR. Johnson's hair was ''carroty."
Cervantes had "aquiline features and
chestnut hair"
Alferi was ''tall, thin, pallid, with red
hair, " says Rossetti, and Rossetti himself
was "auburn tinted"
Mr.. James Russell Lowell's hair and
beard in his younger days were ''tinged
with auburn"
The poet Swinburne has auburn hair.
Two American presidents, Thomas JEFF
ferson and President Tyler, had auburn
hair.
People with auburn hair, it is seen,
walk with q distinguished company.
Moreover, it is hardly to be esteemed a
mere accident that auburn hair and po-
etc genius consort SO often together. The
explanation of it l conceive to be this:
The possession of red hair and the marks
hat go with it are almost always the
sign of the possession of more han the
average stock of vitality. The auburn
haired man, it is true, is not usually of
stronger physique than his neighbor, but
his vitality is more intense, it is more
available, less is wasted in mere friction
and in overcoming resistance, SO to say;
less is wasted in the mere mechanical and
animal operations of the body. The SEN
sibilities of auburn haired people, it is
frequently observed, are keener and more
delicate, their moral and aesthetic emo
lions are more quickly touched, the play
of their faculties is more rapid
than those of other people. Often,
IL Liuob 10 SOLlGoothy Ihlo qldl-
ity is carried to excess, and the
character becomes morbid and oversensi-
tive. This fact undoubtedly explains
much Of the popular feeling toward red
headed people. They are touchy and If
ritable and it is often hard to compre-
bend their actions. For they are of the
race of the poets and artists, and are, as
1 have shown, above aristocrats by birth
natures aristocrats. In her novel,
Friends; a Duet" Elizabeth Stuart
Phelps has very subtly exposed the Sc
cret of this temperament. "Nordhall, -
she writes, rknew that he had auburn
hair and eyes that match it, and that he
might any day make an outrageous
blunder. He was learning to analyze
temperament, which is either a mans
first friend or deadliest foe"
That is the secret of it. The auburn
haired temperament is given to extremes.
1t seldom follows the beaten path. 1t is
ardent and intense, as nature made it and
meant it to be. Why should the rest of
the world quarrel with it that it is even
not such a one as itself2-Victor Fitzvic-
tor in Chicago Journal.